Mars Base Camp

Mars Base Camp (MBC) is a crewed Mars laboratory orbiter concept under study commissioned by NASA from Lockheed Martin in the US.[1] It would use both future and proven concepts as well as the Orion MPCV, also built by Lockheed Martin.

The Mars Base Camp concept has been proposed to NASA as a possible version of the Deep Space Transport, a crewed interplanetary spacecraft to support science exploration missions to Mars of up to 1,000 days.[2] [3] It would be part of a larger architecture that includes the Lunar Gateway space station.[3] As of April 2018, the Mars transit vehicle is still a concept to be studied, and NASA has not officially proposed the mission in an annual U.S. federal government budget cycle.[4][5]

The purpose of MBC would be to conduct real-time communication science, both in Mars orbit and on the surface of its moons (Deimos and Phobos), and serve as a proving ground in preparing humans for future missions to Mars’s surface.

History

The concept was published in May 2016 by Lockheed Martin, and it is a design for a spacecraft for carrying humans to Mars orbit and conducting operations in Mars orbit.[6] Mars Base Camp harnesses many NASA technologies in development, or technology goals at the time of the 2010s.[6]

In September 2017, the plan was updated including a concept for a reusable crewed shuttle called MADV (Mars Ascent Descent Vehicle), which would connect to the MBC Mars space station.[7]

Hardware

Mars Base Camp lays out a proposed technology road map to support NASA's Moon to Mars through the Deep Space Transport and the Lunar Gateway.[2] The main systems and modules are:[1][8][9][10]

• Orion MPCV – Command-and-control heart of the orbiting spacecraft, housing vital navigation, communications and life support for extended missions.
• Solar arrays – Generate the power for spacecraft operations and

See also

• Mars orbit rendezvous

External links

• Mars Base Camp homepage at Lockheed Martin
• Mars Base Camp. An Architecture for Sending Humans to Mars by 2028 – Oct 2016 summary, 25 pages
• SpacePolicyOnline.com: "Lockheed Martin to Propose 2028 Orbiting "Mars Base Camp" Today"
• Newsweek: "Lockheed Martin Plans Mars Base Camp"
• International Business Times: "Lockheed Martin building an orbiting Mars base to send humans to Red Planet by 2028"
• "Concept for a Crewed Lunar Lander Operating from the Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway"